Shipping unit



Patented Sept. 10, 1940 i UNITED STATES PATENT o-Fc'sz SHIPPING UNIT William C. N ebe, Gary, Ind. Application September 28,l 1938, Serial No. 232,176 a claims. (crane-.60)

This invention relates to the shipping of sheet material and, particularly, to an improved method and means for assembling'bundles or packages of fiat metallic sheets, such as tin plate and the like, into a shipping unit.

Sheet material such as tin plate, when shipped in a box car or gondola, should be braced therein so as to prevent damage to the sheets and to eliminate the shifting of the individual packages or bundles of thin sheets from one side of the vehicle to the other while the transporting veliicle is enroute'. Various means have' been suggested for bracing the bundles of sheets therein, some of which have been very satisfactory although quite expensive. Ordinarily, wooden bulkheads were used on the sides and ends of .a unitary group of packages or bundles of sheets. The heavy tin plate often broke through such retaining bulkheads or, oftentimes, the tin plate itself was damagedby the relative sliding movement between the sheets, resulting in the spotting or scratching of their surfaces, or the bending' or crimping of the edges thereof, especially the outer edges next to the bulkheads; also, the use of wooden bulkheads, or the use of wood for otherwise -bracing the shipment, substantially increased the amount of dunnage required for the shipment. Furthermore, such bulkheads and bracing were bulky, usually required an excessive amount of space, were diflicult to handle, and usually had to be nailed into position in the transporting vehicle.

It is o ne of the objects of the present invention to provide an improved means for shipping sheet material which will reduce to a minimum the amount of dunnage required.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved means for shipping sheet material which is simple and inexpensive and, at the same time, will insure the safe shipment thereof.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved, sturdy and rugged shipping unit which takes up a minimum amount of space and one which is easily assembled and taken apart after shipment.

Various other objects and advantages of this invention will be more apparent in the course of the following specification and will be particularly pointed out in' the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings there is shown, for the purpose of illustration, one embodiment and a modification thereof wlich my invention may assume in practice.

In these drawings:

v. blocks 'I which are about one upwardly extending leg of the angle iron mem- Figure 1 is a perspective of the improved shipping unit of my invention;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section through an end of the shipping unit shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a perspective of a shipping unit 5 of a modified construction of my invention; and,

Figure 4 is a transverse section through the' side of the shipping unit shown in Figure 3.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the numeral 2 indicates generally a tin plate vpackage or bundle comprising a plurality of stacked thin tin plate sheets 3. It will be understood that the present invention is particularly concerned with the binding of these individual tin plate packages or bundles into a Single unit for shipping purposes. The packages or bundles are preferably positioned in a plurality of parallel aligned rows in close contact relation with each other, preferably on a plurality of relatively narrow skids or runners 4, preferably made 20, of wood and suitably positioned on the floor of the car or transportingvvehicle and extending longitudinally thereof so that any shock or jar v ,encountered by the transporting vehicle in transit will tend to cause movement of the individual package longitudinally of the vehicle instead of laterally thereof.

According to the present invention, as shown in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, there is positioned along the top edge of the endmost bundles of the unit at each end thereof, a rigid member, preferably an angle iron member 5 of a llength substantially equal to the width of the unit. These angle iron members 5 are so positioned on the top edge of the bundles that one leg thereof extends over the top edge of the endmost bundles with the other leg extending down the side thereof. vIt has been found that a four-inch angle iron is suitable for almost all sizes of bundles. There is arranged along .the bottom edge of the endmost bundles at each end thereof and opposite the angle irons 5, a plurality of spacedapart angle iron members 6. These angle iron members 6 have one leg thereof positioned against the bottom of the endmost bundles, with the other leg thereof extending upwardly along 'the side thereof and-spaced therefromV by means of solid filler members, preferably wood filler inch thick. The

bers 6 should terminate at a point intermediate the downwardly extending leg of the angle iron members 5 so as .to overlap the same, and the wood filler blocks l should extend beyond the top of the upwardly extending leg of the angular members 6 and terminate about a quarter of an inch from the top of the stacked sheets.

There is provided preferably a flexible tensioning means for binding the plurality of aligned rows of individual packages or bundles into a single unit. This flexible binding means preferably comprises wires or fiat, high tension steel straps or bands 8 which of the unit around the rows of bundles 2, the angle irons 5, the wood fillers 'I and the angle iron members 6 to hold the bundles together as a unit.

In the embodiment of the invention, as illustrated in Figures 3 and 4 of the drawings, the tin plate shipping unit is substantially the same as that illustratedin Figures 1 and 2 except that there is provided a plurality of laterally extending wires or steel bands 9 similar to the straps 8 for binding the unit laterally. Also, in addition,

there i s positioned longitudinally extending angle irons IO positioned along the sides of the top edge of the outside bundles, similar to the angle irons 5, which are lapped or overlapped thereby at the ends thereof. Thereis also positioned along both sides of the u 't a plurality of spacedapart angle iron members I2 with one leg thereof positioned against the bottom of the outside bundles and the other leg extending upwardly along the side thereof and .terminating at a point intermediate the downwardly extending leg of the angle irons Ill thereby overlapping the same. It will be'noted that the wooden iiller 1 is eliminated from use with the angle irons Ill on the sides, but may be used if desired. The straps 9, of course, extend laterally around the aligned rows of bundles, the angle irons Ill and the angle iron members IZ.

In this embodiment, it will be seen that the sides of the bundles or packages are protected and braced, as well as the ends, which may be desirable in some cases, especially where there is danger of sidewise movement of the unit in transit.

It will be seen that the angle iron members 5, 6, IO and' l2 protect the edges of the thin tin plate sheets from damage, both` from the highly tensioned flexible binding straps positioned therearound and any obstructionswhich may damage the edges of the sheets, and, at the same time, provide a full floating unit. All of the angle iron or packaging means used in assembling the bundles into a unit, as described, may be scrap or material that' has been rejected and which has no further use other than for such a purpose; consequently, the cost of the bracing or packaging means is reduced to a minimum.

As a result of my invention, it will be seen that there is provided a simple, practical and inexpensive method and means for bracing and shipping sheet material which presents decided advantages over any prior methods and means herevtofore suggested or used. It will be seen that the packaging or bundling means has been reduced to a minimum and that it can be easilyV and quickly applied to the unit or removed therefrom after shipment. Furthermore, the means used for bracing or packaging the bundles into a unit need not be returned to the shipper, as is sometimes the case, andthe binder can either scrap the packaging means, that is, the angle irons and binding means, or salvage the same, whichever he so desires.

extend longitudinally While I have shown and described one embodiment of my invention and a modification thereof, it will be understood that these embodiments are merely for the purpose of illustration and description and that various other forms may be devised within the scope of my invention, as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A shipping unit comprising a plurality of bundles arranged in a plurality of rows in close relation, a single rigid angle iron member arranged along the top edge and around the corner at least at the opposed ends of said unit, a plurality of spaced-apart relatively narrow rigid angle 1 dles together into a compact unit.

2. A shipping unit comprising a plurality of bundles arranged in a plurality of parallel rows in ,close relation, a rigid angle iron member arranged along the top edge and around the corner at each side of said unit, a plurality of spacedapart narrow angle iron members arranged along the bottom edge at both the ends and sides of said unit, each of said narrow angle iron 'mem-- bers at both the ends and sides of the unit having one leg thereof positioned against the' bottom of the bundles with the other leg extending up- Iwardly along the sides thereof and overlapping the downwardly extending leg of said angle iron members positioned along the top edge on each side, and tensioning means arranged both longitudinally and laterally around the rowsof bundles and all of the angle iron members to bind the bundles firmly together into a compact 'unit. 3. A shipping unit comprising a plurality of bundles arranged in a plurality of parallel rows i in close relation, a single rigid angle iron member. arranged along the top edge and around the corner at least at the opposed ends of said unit, said angle iron member being equal in length to substantially the width of said unit, a plurality of spaced-apart relatively narrow rigid angle iron members arranged al'ng the bottom edge of said unit at said ends, each of said narrow angle iron members having one leg thereof positioned against the bottom of the endmost bundles with the other leg extending upwardly along the side of the bundles and being spaced therefrom by means of a solid filler member, both the upwardly extending legs of each of said narrow angle iron members and said filler members overlapping the downwardly extending leg ofsaid single iron member positioned along the top edge, and tensioning means arranged around the bundles, the, single angle iron, and all of the narrow angle iron members and filler members .to firmly bind the bundles together into a compact unit.

WILLIAM C. NEBE. 

